The 98th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will be broadcast on ABC. Sadly, Diane and I have seen NONE of the nominees for Best Picture–a first.
Diane and I used to watch the entire Oscar ceremony from start to finish. Most years, we had seen ALL the nominees for Best Picture. Those days are gone and the motion picture industry is in deep trouble. Are you going to watch the Oscars this year? The Oscar broadcast moves from ABC to YouTube in 2029.
No interest in the Oscars. Little interest in current films and absolutely no desire to go to a movie theatre. And get off my lawn!
Jerry, it takes Something Special to get Diane and me to a movie theater nowadays. We have multiple streaming services and a 65 inch high definition Smart TV so essentially we enjoy a home theater.
I still like some current films, but have never taken the Oscars too seriously, and I don’t think I’ve ever sat through a whole telecast.
I’ve seen ONE BATTLE and mean to see SINNERS, but probably will not see all the BP nominees with any alacrity.
Todd, most of the Best Movie nominees will show up on streaming services in a couple of months.
Todd, when the kids were in their teens, we’d host Watch Parties for the Oscars for Patrick and Katie and their friends. I’m not sure that’s a Thing anymore…
Still is to some extent, but I suspect more of them might happen in bars and restaurants than in previous decades.
What Jerry said.
I see you’re where we’ve been for the last several years. The last time we were in a movie theater was March of 2020.
Like you, we used to watch the Oscars from start to finish. Some years, Jackie got too tired to stay up to the end and I’d have to tell her who won. In school, she won the teachers’ pool more than once, usually because of her excellent guessing of the more obscure categories, like documentary short subject, that few people had seen.
I can remember asking my mother if I could stay up to watch back when Ben-Hur was Best Picture.
Now we’re old.
*sigh*
Jeff, it’s hard to justify staying up past midnight to find out who won Oscars for films we haven’t seen.
Jerry & Jeff pretty much summed it up: gone are the days when we’d try to see every best picture nominee plus all of the acting award nominees (if their movie wasn’t nominated for best picture), participate in the Oscar pool at work, have a friendly family contest about the winners, order several big pizzas, and make a fun night of it. This year I haven’t seen any of the nominees in any of the categories and have no interest in the show. I’ll check the winners tomorrow morning. The Oscars now seem as remote and irrelevant to me as something from the latest TikTok “Star” or Instagram influencer.
Deb, same here. We have very little interest in the Oscars, but will check the winners tomorrow morning. The fact that the Oscars are moving from network TV to YouTube shows how dramatic the change in viewership has become.
Sad but true, Deb.
Also, Jackie made a point that “Hollywood Royalty ” you tuned in to see no longer turns up, unless they’re nominated or presenting a Major Award. I don’t care what Sydney Sweeney is wearing (or thinking, if anything). There are still a number of what I consider “real” stars from the ’70s and even earlier – I ‘m not even talking 101 year old Eva Marie Saint, but what about past winners Rita Moreno or Joel Grey or Julie Andrews? Ellen Burstyn and Michael Caine? Shirley MacLaine and Sophia Loren? Even Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.
And keep off my lawn!
Jeff, the pre-Oscar nonsense with the 300 foot Red Carpet is obnoxious. Pretty soon Artificial Intelligence will be creating “movie stars.”
I haven’t seen any of them either. Haven’t even heard of three of them. Time has passed me by! These ceremonies are an infatuous joke anyway.
Or fatuous!
Fred, I’m betting Conan will mock Timothée Chalamet’s dismissal of Ballet and Opera.
One last personal point: I can’t stand Conan O’Brien.
Jeff, Billy Crystal was my favorite host of the Oscars.
Also, it’s not the same without my mother calling up to say, “Can you believe what she’s wearing?”
Jeff, same here! My mother love to criticize the gowns!
Nowadays, Jeff, it’s more like, “Can you believe what she’s not wearing?”
Worse things can happen, but too much of a muchness there starts to feel a bit sad.
I will watch the show, but no longer watch the red carpet pre show.
I haven’t seen any of the nominees. I tried to watch sinners but gave up, not realizing that it was a vampire film.
Maggie, many critics predict SINNERS to be the Big Winner.
Well, with O’Brien as host (sorry, Jeff) and the likes of Laurie Kilmartin on the writing staff for the ceremony, a decent chance it’ll be funnier than usual. The ponderousness of the event being less than it was, perhaps, in previous decades.
Indeed, George, I saw ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER at home, and I’ve barely been in a theater since the COVID lockdown. Might see SINNERS in a theater. Did see some of IF I HAD LEGS, I’D KICK YOU at home as well, but the somewhat callous and clumsy tone with which the suffering of the characters was portrayed didn’t sit well with me…in a happier mood, I might’ve appreciated the ?attempt at over-the-top black humor (if it was) more than I did. Debra Winger is nominated for Best Actress for her work there.
Middle-Aged Moment–it’s Rose Byrne in LEGS and up for the Oscar.
Todd, I’ve always liked Rose Byrne.
Todd, I can’t remember when the Oscars ended this early! I remember the days when I’d be up to midnight to see who won BEST MOVIE.
George, who are you wearing? (Done is the horrible NY honk of Joan Rivers!) The last time I was in a theater, I saw Otto something with Tom Hanks! Not my choice! I can’t begin to tell you how disinterested I am in the whole silly, phony, vapid extravaganza of the Academy Awards!
Bob, you and millions of other former Oscar viewers feel the same way. That’s why the Oscars are moving to YouTube.
I remember the time when video cassette shops would proudly display all the films nominated, and people would rent them. Now VCRs have disappeared and so has my interest in the movies. In any case, I always preferred B&W Hollywood movies.
Neeru, streaming services like Netflix have dominated the movie market. Most of our movie theaters had closed during the Pandemic.